Bound by Darkness -- Ghost Adventures Zak Bagans
by Paintedwings77
Summary: spair. Zak feels them all now. They are his constant companion when he is surrounded by people. Zak had always been that cocky ghost hunter who taunted and dared spirits to come out and take their best shot at him. That is until; five months ago when one evil entity took him up on that challenge … and won. Angst/Romance
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

-"I don't know what is happening to me … there is something …" Both of Zak's fist tightened as he felt the worst imaginable pain start at the center of his stomach and slowly course its way through his entire body. "There is something inside of me." Zak found himself crying out.

Nick quickly put a firm but comforting hand on Zak's shoulder.

-"It's okay dude, just relax." He said soothingly. Unsure what exactly was wrong with his friend.

Zak's whole body grew stiff. His muscles contracted against his will and he sluggishly lost all control of his limbs. Panic seeped deep into him. Something … no someone was inside him, trying to take control, to take over. He had been possessed before, but none of those occasions had ever felt like this.

Pain … Hatred … Agony.

They were emotions that consumed him within seconds. He couldn't remember what happiness was, had he ever truly felt it, he wondered cynically. He had never felt anything so raw in his life. Despair soon took over all his senses. Zak almost felt like he was being rewritten, every thought, every memory, erased and replaced with sadness and fury.

-"Zak? Zak?" Aaron rushed over discarding his camera on the ground.

He felt another pair of hands grab hold of his other shoulder and spin him around. He could his friends ... or were they enemies ... they were close, too close, but he couldn't see them. With his eyes shut tightly all Zak could see was a red haze of animosity for everything and anything around him.

-"Come on dude, fight it!" Nick spoke from his other side, seeing the changes come over him.

Zak felt his entire body start to tremble as the entity traveled through his entire body until it reached his head. Zak clearly heard a callous and cold laugh echo through his mind and all his senses suddenly became alive.

His skin felt too tight for his body, each touch from his friends burnt and bruised his skin. All the sounds around him became loud and sharp. Aaron and Nick's desperate cries were like nails to a chalk board.

That was when all the strange feelings he was experiencing overwhelmed him. The hostility and rancor for the two men who were crowding him overtook his mind. They were nuisance and he needed to get rid of them. _Now._

Zak's muscles slowly unclenched and with his control back he wasted no time to fall to the temptation he had been feeling. He turned and grabbed Nick by the neck. Unsuspecting of the attack, Nick was caught off-guard and was whipped around like a ragdoll. Zak threw him hard against the wall, never letting go of his throat.

-"Zak! Fucking stop! You have to fight it off!" Aaron roared reaching for Zak's hand, trying to help loosened Nick from his hold. "You are going to kill him, stop it!"

As if wakening from a nightmare, Zak felt himself being slammed back down into his body. He knew this was wrong. What the hell was wrong with him? Nick was his friend. But this hate … it was to strong … he couldn't just let go …

Zak's whole body began to shake and convulse and with a loud bellow, he let out a loud scream as darkness consumed him.


	2. Chapter One

**oOo  
** ** _Monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside us and sometimes they win. ~ Stephen King  
_** **oOo**

 **Chapter One**

 ** _Five months later._**

Zak leisurely strolled on the soft mossy ground silently reading each headstone he would pass by. The old cemetery he had chosen to stop at was several hours out of Las Vegas. He had no idea what town he was in or where exactly _here_ was. A few hours ago he had gotten into his truck and simply drove, not caring which direction he went, he had just needed to get out. For all he knew he was halfway to Arizona or on the road to Idaho, but none of that mattered because he had needed to get away from the noises and sounds. Even his home was sometimes too loud, too deafening …

So here he was, in the middle of nowhere, enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet. The old graveyard was nothing spectacular. The old crumbling headstones were weather beaten and some were barely readable. Despite the place showing its age, nothing caught his eye and none of them really spoke to him and that was fine, he wasn't here for work. Over the last few months he had discovered cemeteries were one place most people avoided. It was the one area where he was the least likely to encounter people.

Cemeteries were one of those locations where no one wanted to go unless they felt obligated too. Graveyards were after all that awful reminder that everyone ended up here, six feet under. It didn't matter if you were rich or poor, an honest person who donated to every cause out there or if you spent your time belittling those who were less fortunate. There was no escaping the clutched of death's hand. Everyone died in the end, but no one wanted to face that.

Zak was different though. He came face to face with that reality daily. His mortality was merely another piece of a puzzle he couldn't solve. His journey had started years ago when he had witness some paranormal activity. It had simply been a mild obsession to get proof, too show the world what he had seen with his own eyes, and now ... Now it was about answers. What exactly happened to people after they died? Why did some people's spirit stay while others disappeared, and where did those spirits go?

He could never have known all those years ago that this would be his life now. Constantly surrounded by death.

Zak stopped his lazy stroll in front of a single headstone. The markings were barely readable anymore but he could make out enough that a small infant was laid to rest here. The child had died one hundred and twenty years ago. Zak crouched down and with care he cleared off some of the debris around the stone. With an eerie stillness he found himself running his fingers along the engraved stone, contouring what was left of the engraved letters.

If he knew then what he knew now he wasn't sure he would have pursued for all of those answers, but thanks to his curiosity and need for the truth he was now paying the ultimate price and for what?

He knew very well for what, because he was so close to those very answers ... and he knew he would keep pushing through, just a bit longer. He was so close...

Zak's hand balled up into an unintentional fist as his thoughts turned to the events that had happened months ago. They had changed him and not for the better. He took a deep calming breath and slowly let his muscles relax. His fingers slowly uncoiled and he felt the burning rage that had been building gradually dissipate. _Good,_ he thought, _good._ Just relax and stay calm.

Zak stood and stepped away from the child's grave. He let his eyes roam the landscape when he spotted the small church several yards away. He had not seen it when he first arrived because it was tucked away at the furthest point of the cemetery. At the same moment a light, pleasant sound of tiny bells ringing came from the church marking the top of the hour.

The church was obviously still in use and Zak's confounded curiosity once again got the better of him.

 **oOo**

When Zak entered the church he briefly wondered if he had misheard the bells tolling. The building was quite rustic and practically falling apart. The walls contained several cracks and long vines of ivy had made their way through, the stubborn vines clung to some of the stained glass windows. Despite the crumbling state of the church the pews and altars were in great shape and had obviously been waxed not long ago.

In awe, Zak let his eyes roam the surprisingly little chapel until he heard a slightly shuffling sound. He whirled around to face a beautifully carved confessional box. An elderly man smoothly exited and without glancing in Zak's direction left the church. He had been so enthralled with the building he had not even noticed that the church had people in it.

Zak stared at the booth and as if someone had lassoed him with an invisible rope he felt a pull towards the box. He felt compelled to enter, so he did. He pushed the velvet like curtain to the side and slipped inside the tiny space. He quickly took a seat as the curtain stilled and the booth became dark.

He had seen many of these confessional booths, but he had never entered one. The inside was just as lovely as the outside, with a plush seat and intricate carved screens panel which separated the priest and him. All Zak could see was a faint light coming from the other side and the outline of a man on the opposite side of the screen that patiently waited for him to speak. Zak took a deep breath. He had been brought here for some reason ... Maybe he should make use of this time.

-"Bless me father for I have sinned." Zak uttered softly. "It's been … well it's been too long since my last confession." He finished, still unsure what the hell he was doing here.

He was met with silence from the other side of the small confessional booth and he briefly wondered if the priest was even awake. He had never done this, hell he wasn't even sure he believed in a single, higher power God-like figure … but he had to talk to someone, confide in someone who wouldn't judge him no matter what.

-"Actually …" Zak let out a humorless chuckle. "I haven't been to church since I was a kid." He paused as he let the old memories flood back to him. Images he never wanted to remember but for some odd reason he had been playing the old events of his life over and over in his mind. "My father … He used to make us all go to church." Zak gazed at the flawless veneered wood in front of him until his vision blurred. "I used to hate it, getting all dressed up just to go sit for a fucking hour-"

-"Language." The priest scolded, speaking for the first time from the other side of the panel.

-"Sorry father." Zak apologized quickly although he really wasn't. He had never been one to curb his language for anyone.

He was to set in his ways … too old, or at least he felt it. Zak sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the strong odor of frankincense and myrrh. Two things he despised. He found the scent of them overwhelming and almost suffocating. He let out the long breath he had sucked in.

-"Lately … I been thinking about stuff … mostly my father. We never were close, you know." Zak sighed. "He was an ass …" Zak glanced at the privacy screen and mumbled an apology before the priest could say anything. "But I did learn one thing from him." He continued, "I took away this one thing from all his stupid antics ... you always get up." Zak shrugged as a flood of emotions he was not ready to deal with started to overtake him but with determination he pushed down all the anger and sorrow that was surfacing. "My father ... You never could take him down. Oh, he was knocked down, sure, but he always got back up. He was always on his feet when he lost."

Zak closed his eyes for a brief moment. He didn't want to remember, but he had been thinking about this for some time. Ever since that investigation, where he had totally lost it ... The only investigation that he and the guys had gone on and was never televised. The hunt that had started his downwards spiral into this isolation he was now in.

It was why he was here ... he couldn't take what he was becoming anymore. He had to talk to someone. Zak rubbed his face vigorously and tried to keep it together for a moment longer. He had to keep talking, say anything. Speaking out loud kept him from thinking too much.

-"My grandmother, she was the real catholic." Zak lips curled into a tiny smile at the memory of the old woman from his childhood. "Fear of God ran deep in her. You'd have liked her." He joked. "She used to say, "Be careful of the Bagans boys. They have the demons in them." Zak chuckled at the memory, although he wasn't sure why because there was no humor in that saying. "And you'd see it sometimes … his eyes would go dead." The memory was too fresh, he couldn't go there, he could never go there. Zak's hands began to tremble. "He would let his demon out …"

Zak inhaled sharply as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

-"I didn't understand it when I was a kid ... What he was feeling deep inside him." He balled up his fist and brought it to his chest as he exhaled the breath he had been holding. The sound of it echoed through the eerily quiet church. "I didn't understand it." He repeated sadly. "Not back then." He murmured.

-"But you understand it now?" The priest asked softly.

Zak considered his question for a moment. It was why he was here ... to get this man's advice ... to seek what? Acceptance? Forgiveness? He had no idea, but he was starting to understand what his grandmother had been telling him.

-"I chase the demons now, Father." Zak said with pain. "But something happened to me, something changed me and I can't seem to shake off this darkness that is inside of me."

The confessional booth soon fell into silence. Zak couldn't say anymore, not because he didn't want too, but because he wasn't too sure what was going on with him, but he was changing, and not for the better.

-"Perhaps this would be easier if you tell me what you've done." The soft-spoken priest finally said.

Zak eyes narrowed on the privacy screen, to the silhouette of the man he was seeking help from.

-"I'm not seeking penance for what I've done, father." Steeling himself, his first clenched and unclenched. "I'm asking ...forgiveness … for what I am about to do."

He heard the priest shift uncomfortably in his seat. He had suddenly made the man on the other side very uneasy. He knew it. He _felt_ it, deep inside his bones. With a flinch, Zak mumbled an apology to the priest and with haste he rushed out of the confessional booth and headed to the exit. Once he reached the outside, he let out a foul curse and sank down onto the old stone steps with defeat.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could do this for. Everything was so different. Everywhere he looked, he didn't see simple people anymore, and all he saw was darkness. The small gift the _'incident'_ as the guys refereed it too, had been left with him. He was not only mildly empathic anymore, he felt pure, raw emotions from anyone he encountered and was slowly killing.

 **oOo**

Zak sat on the old stone wall which lined the cemetery property. He leisurely dangled his legs, swinging them side to side. He kept his eyes to the bright blue sky. Big puffy white clouds darted by at an incredible speed, giving the ceiling above a sense that the earth was falling through space at an incredible speed, or maybe it was just him, Zak mused with little humor. It was an all too common feeling for him to feel like he was falling and he never knew when he was going to land.

The bright light from the afternoon sun began to burn his eyes but refusing to look away, Zak simply blinked until tears formed. He ignored the pain and kept his stare at the sky. He let his thoughts wander. His journey with investigating ghosts had started ten years ago. He had chased the elusive spirits with a need to get answers for so long that he had started to forget why he had even started in the first place. But then again it was easy to get lost, to lose sight of something when fame and fortune came around.

He was by no means the most famous man in the world, nor was he the richest, but he wasn't one of those people who would ever have to worry if he could pay his bills month to month, and he was famous enough to get recognized by those who were passionate about the paranormal like he was. Life had served him a sweet deal ... So why couldn't he just enjoy it?

Just then his mobile rang. Not surprised, Zak dug the phone from his pocket with ease and answered without bothering to glance at who it was. He already knew.

-"Hey dude, you almost ready to go?" Aaron's asked cheerfully.

-"Not exactly." Zak chuckled, leveling his eyes with the mountain range in front of him.

-"Our flight leaves in three hours dude, I am on my way to your place now."

-"Don't bother." Zak shrugged. He hopped off the old stone wall and dusted off his backside with his free hand. "I am going to drive there."

-"What?" Aaron's tone turned worried. "We meet the people from the factory tomorrow morning, dude, we can't be late."

-"I am already halfway there." Zak marched to his bright yellow, Ford F-150 VelociRaptor. He hadn't bothered to lock the doors, there were no signs of life for miles, and he doubted anyone would have tried to take his truck. He quickly slipped inside the luxurious truck. Zak knew exactly where he was ... well almost. He started the truck and waiting for the onboard satellite navigation to load. He had travelled enough distance in America to recognized that he was somewhere near the Utah border.

-"What?" Aaron repeated loudly into the receiver. "What the hell do you mean you are halfway there?"

-"Just text me the address." Zak sighed, not in the mood to explain why he was all the way out in the middle of nowhere.

Zak waited a moment for his Bluetooth to kick in and Aaron was on the speaker option he put the truck in drive and made his way back to the main road. Moments later his phone beeped with the details of where he was headed for his next investigation. Salt Lake City Utah. He adjusted the satellite map and his route was all mapped out for him.

-"So what are you doing out in BFE, Zak?" Aaron finally asked, breaking the long silence. "Are you sure you are up to this, we can delay this investigation -"

-"No!" Zak snapped furiously. "No more delays. We are doing this."

After the investigation that had _changed_ Zak, it had not taken long for his friends to notice the transformation in him, especially the following week on their next investigation. Zak had a total meltdown. The investigation had been cut short and Zak had to come clean with his two best friends who had immediately sprang into action and did their best to help him and tried to accommodate his new ... _gift_ ... as best as they could, but there was nothing any of them could do.

But Aaron and Nick were not so easily deterred. They had pursued all solutions they could have thought of, all in hopes of saving their friend. They had discreetly consulted some specialists in the paranormal field and when they had come up empty handed they had tried to see a bishop from the church.

All to no avail.

That had been when Zak had begun to withdraw from everyone. He couldn't stand the noise ... the voices ... the feelings. It was just all too much for him to process. Thanks to his new disability, they now only investigated once a month because it was all Zak could handle, but the lack of recording new episodes was taking its toll on the patience of the network. Last week they gave Zak an ultimatum. Either pick up on the investigations or make room for someone else who was capable of doing the job.

There was no way Zak was willing to do that.

Aaron sighed deeply into the phone; Zak had almost forgotten his friend was on the line.

-"Well alright dude. Just ... you know ... if you need to talk I'm always here for you bro." Aaron said sincerely.

Zak absolutely believed him, but there was no way Aaron could understand what it was like ... Quickly mumbling a thanks, Zak said goodbye and hung up with haste. He turned on the radio and cranked it as loud as he could stand it so it would drown out all his thoughts. He put his foot down on the accelerator and sped down the road to his next investigation.

 **oOo**

Zak had crossed into Utah a couple of hours ago. He knew he was getting near Salt Lake City, the traffic had picked up and it was starting to make him feel claustrophobic so he had turned off the main highway and decided to take the small back roads until he got into the city. Zak sped along the old country road, passing by beautiful scenery that was picture perfect, but he paid little attention to it. With his music still blaring at a deafening tone he paid no mind to his surroundings, he was once again lost in his thoughts, something he did very often lately.

A new investigation meant that he could finally try out his new tool he had helped developed with the assistances of a new, young parapsychologist he had met a few months ago. Dustin Sparks was a bit of a radical and had extreme views that most people in the paranormal community shook their heads and cry in outrage at. Dustin often came up with the strangest theory. Many of them thought he was offbeat and rather unstable, but Zak found him brilliant.

Dustin had been the only person he had been totally honest with. He had told him all the events of that terrible night; he had even shown him the footage that Aaron and Nick thought was destroyed. Together he and Dustin had developed a new way to detect paranormal activity, a whole new approach of maybe even interacting with the dead. Too step into their world ... the realm that they seemed to occupy. To Zak, that was a huge breakthrough.

Loss in his thoughts, Zak paid little attention to the small welcome sign of the suburban town he had just entered. He had put so much of his own money and time into this new project. This could finally prove the existence of different dimensions he had always spoken of. He would finally get all his questions answered ... With his mind elsewhere, Zak sped right through a stop sign, only noticing it after he passed by it.

-"Shit!" He cried with his neck craned to the back seeing the metal sign shrinking in size behind him. "Focus, Bagans." He scolded himself.

He turned his eyes back on the road only to see someone crossing the road feet away from him. Without another thought, Zak slammed on the breaks with urgency. The brakes locked up and made the most ungodly screeching noise he had ever heard. Time suddenly slowed and Zak's eyes locked on the woman crossing the road, she turned towards him and her face fell. The woman instinctively put her hands up as if that would somehow protect her from the impact.

The steering wheel shook under his tight grip. Zak held on as smoke from the tires rose and enveloped the truck like a thick fog. The awful smell of burnt rubber filled the cab and Zak held on for dear life, making a silent prayer to the God he didn't believe in.

Her eyes grew wide as the truck came to a sudden abrupt stop not even an inch away from her frame. Zak's fingers clung to the steering wheel with such tightness that he had left a permanent imprint on the soft materiel. Breathing hard, Zak tried to catch his breath. He stared in horror at woman who seemed about ready to pass out, her complexion was so pale white she almost appeared translucent.

Zak wrenched the seatbelt off and rushed out of the truck, practically tripping over his own feet.

-"Holy, fuck! Are you okay? I am so sorry, I didn't see you!" He rushed to her side.

-"You stopped." She whispered in awe.

-"I wasn't paying attention, oh god." He babbled, suddenly feeling winded. He ran his hand through his hair. "I am so fucking sorry." Zak huffed out trying to catch his breath as panic started to set in.

His chest heaved up and down and his vision blurred. How could he be so damn careless? He almost ran someone over. He needed to get his head out of his ass. Beads of sweat started to form at the back of Zak's neck and forehead, his stomach clenched into a giant knot. His skin suddenly felt warm and clammy. Zak fought back the wave of nausea that suddenly assaulted him, he felt like he was going to throw up any second, but his thoughts were distracted by the woman's pleasant silvery voice.

-"You actually stopped for me." The woman repeated her full of wonder.

Zak wanted to tell her of course he stopped, why would she say something like that? Did she think he was some sort of crazed man who ran woman over for shits and giggles? But before he could open his mouth he felt her cool hand slip on his bare arm. Her slim fingers tightly wrapped around his forearm.

-"Are you okay?" She asked her voice full of concerned.

His eyes lowered to her hand. Her flesh was extremely cold, almost as if she had been plunged into icy water. He watched his entire arm fill up with goosebumps.

-"I'm okay, just freaking out a bit." He said gruffly, finally finding his voice.

The woman nodded, seeming to understand. Taking control of the situation, she directed him in the direction of his truck, where the door still hung open. A few annoyed drivers sped by, giving them an annoyed look for blocking traffic but Zak paid them no mind. When they reached the driver's seat he leaned against the truck and let out a long shaky breath, happy to feel something supporting his weight.

-"I am so sorry, I really I'm not that distracted usually." He spoke softly, still not trusting himself to say more than he had too in case he broke down in full hysterics.

-"That's alright." The woman gave him a shy smile. "No one ever bothers to stop."

Zak furrowed his brow at her strange choice of words, but assumed maybe she was referring to the fact that no one was stopping at all to make sure they were alright. Everyone drove by, honking or glaring, but not one had stopped.

-"Well they are all fucking idiots." Zak grumbled, starting to feel a bit more like himself.

Now that Zak didn't feel like he was going to hurl, he was able to give his surrounding a bit of a better look. The town didn't look familiar at all, and it was rather uninteresting. What did catch Zak's eye was the girl that stood in front of him. She was tall and wispy, and to Zak's concern the color of her skin had not returned. He probably had scared the living shit out of her and the poor thing was in shock, but she did not look frightened at all, in fact she appeared calm and almost serene.

And her eyes …

She had lovely large green eyes with unfashionably long red hair. She was rather pretty but there was something else about her that Zak did not fail to notice. How sad her big eyes were. There was such a deep sorrow that Zak found himself looking away, afraid of what he would find. He quickly spoke, needing to fill the sudden silence and avoid looking in her in the eyes.

-"I'm Zak."

The woman opened her mouth to reply but her facial features changed within seconds. Her lips drooped into a worried frown.

-"I need to go." She suddenly said.

-"Oh, yeah sure." Zak stood up straight, testing out his legs, and happily the shaking had all but gone away. "Can – Can I give you a ride somewhere?" He offered.

The woman shook her head no and simply walked away. Zak frowned at her strange behavior but merely shrugged it off. He quickly got back in his truck and thanked his lucky stars that he had not hit that woman. On instinct Zak turned his head in the direction she had rushed off in, and to his surprise she was gone.


	3. Chapter Two

**oOo  
** _Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured. ~ Mark Twain_ **  
oOo**

 **Chapter Two**

Zak arrived in Salt Lake City a bit after ten o'clock. Nick had already checked in thanks to his earlier flight from Boston. Aaron on the other hand wouldn't be landing until midnight thanks to a delay. Despite the fact that Zak had almost hit someone, he was glad he had not flown with Aaron ... He was unsure how he would have handled an extra three hours stuck inside a plane with all those people and their ... thoughts. Zak stomach suddenly clenched and twisted in a giant knot has he imagined that scenario. He quickly shoved those thoughts to the side and hurried inside the hotel to check in.

-"Zak Bagans." He spoke to the man at the check-in counter.

The man efficiently type on his computer barely sparing him a glance.

-"For two nights?" The clerk with the name tag of Doug asked.

Picking his head from his monitor the clerk's gaze landed on Zak. He could have sworn he noticed a flicker of recognition in the man's eyes.

-"Hey, aren't you on TV?" He asked.

-"Yeah …" Zak shrugged nonchalantly, only wanting to get to his room so he could rest.

Doug stared at him a bit longer as if trying to place him, he suddenly snapped his fingers.

-"Ghost Adventures!" He exclaimed. "I knew I seen you somewhere …" Zak gave a small smile and was about to agree when the clerk spoke again. "Decent show, but that ghost stuff, I think that is full of crap." He laughed. "I am sure it's all scripted. It is isn't it?" Doug chattered on, barely pausing to take a breath. "I think they make your character sort of come across like a total ass, if I were you, I'd tell 'em to write me a better part."

As Doug kept jabbering on, Zak felt his patience falter.

-"Dude, can I just get my room?" He finally interrupted the clerk. "I'm just … really tired." He quickly added, regretting the words that had just come out of his mouth.

Doug stared at him in a bit of a shock at Zak's abruptness, but quickly gave a single nod and turned back to his computer and clicking on his mouse several times. His movement jerky, obviously upset, he then reached for a key card.

-"Is the hotel busy?" Zak asked suddenly, feeling like the ass Doug had referred him too.

-"Not very. We should pick up in the next couple of months." The clerked answered in a wary chaste tone.

Zak nodded, feinting interest. Truth was told he really didn't care about the hotel or when business would pick back up. What he did want was a room away from other people so he could try to get some sleep before his very long day tomorrow.

-"This might sound weird, but is there a room that is –"Doug stared at Zak with disbelief written all over his face as he realized Zak was asking him a favor. A flicker of anger and resentfully came across his face and Zak felt himself lock up. "— A room that you know ..."

Zak paused feeling a giant wall of animosity hit him hard. With his hands on the counter his fists suddenly balled up so tightly that his knuckles started to turn white. _What the fuck was he so pissed off for?_ He tried to gather his scattered thoughts and push away the burst of fury he was feeling. "A ... uhm ... A room that is far away from other people, sort of alone." Zak finished quickly through his teeth. His jaw was so tight he was sure if he clamped it any tighter it would snap.

The clerk gave Zak a brief glare before turning his eyes to the computer monitor. Zak tried to rally up his feelings and keep it together. He could not unravel, not here, not now, but he knew exactly what was going on. He had felt this countless times in the last five months. It was the whole reason for his isolation. He could feel the hotel clerk's crude emotions of anger.

It was not like regular anger, this was stronger ... unfiltered ... raw, and it was not a feeling he ever got used too.

Zak braced himself and did his best to try and remember this was not him. He was not angry ... he didn't want to suddenly break every piece of furniture in the room. With his senses blazing with reckless fury, Zak tried to focus on the hotel clerk in front of him. He had no idea who this guy was, only that he was pissed off at Zak for cutting him off earlier and thanks to that small outburst all Zak wanted to do now was smash this man's face in.

All he wanted to do was to take one hard swing and hit him. Zak's vision glazed over as the images unfolded in front of him.

 _He reached over the counter and gripped Doug by the collar and before the small hotel clerk could even realize what was happening, Zak pulled him with force over the counter and dragged him to the other side before releasing him._

 _"What the hell?" Doug shouted, surprised._

 _Zak ignored his outburst and took a swing, hitting the man straight in the cheek. The sickly sound of bone being crunched resonated through the air. Doug let out a howl of pain as he crumbled to the ground, clutching his face. A tiny smile curled on Zak's lips as he reached down to grab Doug by the collar again with the intentions of ramming his fist into his skull over and over..._

-"Sir?" Doug called loudly, scolding at him. "Sir ... I have a room in the back of the hotel, will that do?" The clerk repeated.

Zak blinked several times as he stared at the unharmed man, it had been just a daydream ... Breathing hard he tried to catch his breath and concentrate on what the guy was saying.

-"Yeah, sure whatever." Zak snapped, trying to shake off the adrenaline burst that was coursing through his veins.

The clerk nodded and as if sensing something wasn't right he hurried and handed Zak a keycard with speed. With just as much haste Zak grabbed the card and ran to the stairs, needed to get the hell away from this guy before he did something he would regret.

 **oOo**

Zak dropped his bag on the ground and with a strained sigh he let himself fall onto his bed feeling drained and exhausted. No matter how many times he experienced one of those emotions from someone he always felt like death afterwards and it seemed to be getting worst as time went on. He thought he had things under some sort of control ... but it seemed his blasted curse was proving him wrong. It told him he really didn't know shit and his burden was the one in control.

Zak buried his face in the pillow and remained as still as possible. He held his breath and let his eyes drift shut, trying to imagine what his life was like before ... Before _this_ became his life, but his mind came up blank, unable to process anything beyond the pain he was living in now. There just seemed to be no end in sight ... nothing else to live for except for the next unpredicted emotional rollercoaster.

What he hated the most though was when he felt those emotions from others ... for one brief moment when the sentiment took a hold of him; he lost himself to the feeling, like he had done with that hotel clerk. He had given in to the fantasy, the rage and hatred ... He had wanted to hurt him and he had actually taken pleasure from it and that terrified him more than anything ...

Zak's lungs and chest began to burn. On instinct he immediately rolled to his back and sucked in a giant breath of fresh air. The cool wind felt like heaven but the pleasure was short lived. Opening his eyes he stared at the white ceiling. He had never acted on the urges he received from those emotions, but what if one day he did? What if he could not control himself and he just went ahead and let go ... what would happen then?

 _What_ was he becoming?

Zak scrubbed his face vigorously trying to wipe away the awful images he had been force to see just as a loud knock resonate at his door. Zak hoisted himself off the pain with painful slowness, suddenly feeling three times his age. He ached everywhere. What he wouldn't give for just a few hours of sleep that were not disturbed with dreams.

He shuffled his way to the door and opened it, expecting to find someone from the hotel staff but to his surprise Nick stood on the other side with a wide smile.

-"Hey, man, what's up?" Nick greeted warmly.

Zak gave his friend an unenthusiastic nod and moved to the side to let him in. He had not seen Nick in about a month and even though he was glad to see his friend, he wished he would have had a bit more time to get over the episode he just had, because he knew it was just a matter of time before he got slammed with some of Nick's emotions.

Although since Nick knew his condition, both he and Aaron did their best to keep their sentiments in check, but sometimes blocking certain emotions was impossible. It put quite a strain on their friendship and it was one thing Zak did not want to lose, it was the last good thing in his life he held onto. He shut the door and followed Nick deeper inside the room.

-"How did you know I was here?" Zak asked curiously, doing his best to mask the weariness in his voice.

Nick stopped near the small in-room fridge and reached down to grab a bottle of water.

-"Aaron told me you were driving here so I told the front desk to let me know when you checked-in." He popped the top to the bottle and took a long sip. Zak seated himself on the edge of the bed. "So you ready for this investigation tomorrow night?" Nick asked taking a seat in a chair.

Zak shrugged, the excitement that he always felt before an investigation was just not there, and instead he found he was full of apprehension but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone. He wanted to be here, he _needed_ to be here. He had to prove to himself that he could do a simple investigation without any problems or he would definitely be sacked.

-"Yeah, I'm ready for it." Zak answered firmly.

Nick's brow creased slightly from the finality of his tone. It was obvious he was not fooled by Zak's nonchalant demeanor but he said nothing.

-"So how come you drove up?"

-"I thought it was a nice day for a drive."

Nick stared at Zak for a moment but unable to contain it any longer, he burst out in a fit of laughter.

-"Dude, you can bullshit Aaron, but you can't tell me that shit with a straight face." Nick grinned and Zak tried hard not to return the smile, but Nick's laughter was rather contagious. The corner of Zak's lips turned up into a small smile.

Not yet satisfied that Zak would talk, Nick leaned forward in the chair and raised an eyebrow to emphases his point.

-"Yeah ... okay ... You can stop laughing, asshole." Zak chuckled. "I might have forgotten about the investigation. When Aaron called I was already half way here."

Nick eyed Zak with suspicion. He let his gaze travel to the suitcase on the ground.

-"You travel with your clothes?" Nick asked casually.

Zak smile fell. He quickly stood and stomped to the window feeling perturbed, he had forgotten how perceptive Nick could be at times. He pushed the curtain aside letting in the orange glow of the parking lot lights. The view was nothing spectacular and only offered him a glimpse of the highway and the back of a McDonald's; he could see why they didn't fill up this part of the hotel unless they had too. He stared at the damp pavement with a weight on his chest he could not explain.

He couldn't tell Nick that he always traveled with a bag in his truck. He couldn't reveal to him that it was in case he ever had to make a quick getaway ... If he ever lost control and this ... _thing_ inside him overtook him. In case he ever did something … unforgivable. The suitcase was there to make a quick getaway. That was why he kept a packed bag in his truck.

-"So what do we know about this place?" Zak asked, ignoring Nick's question.

He heard Nick sigh loudly. Zak knew he wouldn't press the issue, because like everyone who knew his dirty little secret, Nick was terrified of Zak and he didn't want to be the one who pushed him over the edge.

-"It's a haunted house now but it was a textile factory which had a few accidents at the turn of the century. They are having reports of whispers and shadow people, weird creepy feelings. You know the typical reports of haunted activity. It's a big place but the activity is concentrated in only a few locations."

Zak nodded feeling slightly relieved. It would be a typical investigation. Nothing too hardcore, there would be very little that could make him lose control and that was good for him.

-"Good, sounds like we should have a decent night."

Nick agreed and they both fell into silence. Zak walked away from his window post and took a seat in the chair opposite of Nick's who kept his intense stare on Zak, making him quite uncomfortable, making him feel as if he was some sort of freak experiment. He never liked to be so closely scrutinized.

-"Still having trouble sleeping?" Nick asked suddenly.

Zak wanted nothing more than to deny it, but the dark circles under his eyes did little to hide his lack of sleep. He also thought it best to not lie to one of the two people who were relying on him to keep in control, he had to prove to them that he was trustworthy again. Zak knew damn well that both Nick and Aaron were not only worried about him when they went on an investigation, they feared what he might do too them.

-"What sleep?" Zak chuckled humorlessly. "I have brief moments where I doze off ... the rest of the time I have fucked up nightmares and I wake up more exhausted then when I went to sleep."

Nick gave Zak a sympathetic smile.

-"I'm sorry dude."

Zak shook his head feeling his irritation climbing.

-"Don't fucking do that ... I don't want your damn pity. I just want shit the way it used to be." He slammed his now balled up fist against the tabletop, causing Nick's bottle to topple over.

-"Sorry ..." Nick apologized again but cringed as he did so. "We are just worried about you man. Aaron never sees you anymore and you guys live fifteen minutes apart. You either ignore our calls or you are not home, going god knows where ... " Nick murmured in a low voice, trying to sooth Zak down.

Zak leaned back in his seat and tried to stamp down his climbing temper. He stretched his long legs in front of him.

-"I can't stand being home ... I am going to sell my house and go somewhere more remote, with fewer neighbors. The noise ..." Zak gripped his forever and dug his fingers into his skull. "It doesn't stop ... I got these one neighbors, they fight all the time ... they are so angry and I can feel _all_ of it."

Nick frowned as the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, becoming heavy and oppressive.

-"You can feel that from your neighbors?" Zak nodded dropping his hand but kept his eyes down on his lap; refusing to look at Nick, feeling ashamed. He couldn't stand to see his best friend now fear him. "But you can barely see their house from yours ..." Nick gasped, baffled.

Zak slowly nodded; he didn't have to look at Nick to know he wore a horrified expression on his face. He also didn't need to be a mind reader to know exactly what his friend was thinking.

-"I'm getting stronger at picking up emotions ..." Zak murmured quietly.

Nick shifted awkwardly in his seat as a blast of anxiety hit Zak hard, but uneasiness was something he could do, he was used to people feeling a sense of apprehension about him in general. He had always been empathic, even before this, curse ... He often picked up those feelings from others, but feeling it himself was a whole new experience.

Zak closed his eyes and sucked in a giant intake of air and exhaled it with a loud whooshing sound as if trying to expel the anxiety from his system. He repeated the process several times before opening his eyes to see Nick watching him curiously but still not feeling like himself he let his eyes flutter shut again.

-"Have you ever thought about meditation?" Nick asked softly. Keeping his eyes closed and concentrating on breathing Zak shook his head no. He was not one for all that yoga, meditation, and new-age shit. "You should." Nick replied. "It could help ... you know, keep things a bit more manageable."

-"Maybe."

-"I got the name of a guy ... he helped me a lot after you know ... Moon River and the shit that went down there." Nick's voice cracked for a moment as emotions seem to take over. He swallowed thickly several times. "This dude helped me with a lot of those emotions and shit I couldn't make sense of." Zak gave a halfhearted nod. It was obvious that whatever this guy had done for Nick, it was important to him but Zak really didn't want to seek out another person who would just tell him that there was simply no hope for him. Obviously sensing his aloofness to the suggestion, Nick probed a bit more with questions. "Is that why you didn't want to fly?"

Zak opened his eyes, feeling the worst of the anxiety slowly wearing off.

-"No. Actually big crowds are easier to manage than a small group. There are so many emotions floating around it's like one big jumble." Zak shrugged. It was not easy to put into words what he often felt. "It makes it harder to process unless I am concentrating on a certain person. I mean I still feel the onslaught of emotions but not as much. It's still exhausting though."

Nick sighed sadly.

-"I just don't get it. Can't you feel anything happy? Why is always the bad stuff?"

-"Fuck if I know." Zak growled. "I just know I did not sign up for this shit ..." Nick grabbed his bottle and took another long drink, finishing the entire thing. Bitterly he crushed the bottle before setting it down on the table. Zak watched his friend warily.

-"There is nothing worst then feeling that the choices are made for us." Nick said keeping keen eye on his friend.

Zak shrugged. Man, was Nick ever right. He was a control freak. He hated not being in charge of things, especially when it involve his life, and this was one thing he could not dominate, but he was slowly learning that he couldn't fight it either ... he couldn't do shit about any of it.

-"There is nothing you can do but to swim in shit and hope you don't get too much in your mouth." Zak replied.

Nick chuckled lightly and just like that the mood of room changed and became calm and in a strange way it was almost easier to breath.

-"How right you are." Nick flashed him a smile.

Zak felt the heavy weight being lifted from his chest and just like that he grinned widely. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed Nick's company. Nick was naturally an easy going person. It took a lot to aggravate him and he was not easy to anger. It was one reason Zak had always liked to work with him, he was level-headed and a bit like his voice of reason. So why did he work so hard at pushing him away?

That one was easy to answer. He couldn't risk being near them if he ever lost control ... he had already hurt Nick, almost killed him. The night he had ... acquired this new talent of his, he had lost that very control he struggled to keep over himself. He had grabbed Nick so hard that he had ended up in the hospital with his wind-pipe almost crushed. The doctors had been baffled by how it had happened. Aaron had refused to tell them Zak had been the one who did it, but he knew the hospital suspected something ... the finger marks on Nick's neck were a dead giveaway, especially since one of the marks held the same imprint as the ring he always wore, but no one had questioned him ... no investigation had been done.

Zak's quickly sobered up and dropped the smile. He could have easily killed his best friend that night. He could never afford to lose control like that again.

-"What time are we meeting tomorrow morning?" Zak asked seriously.

-"We meet the owner at nine." Zak glanced at his watch which read a few minutes before midnight. Nick cleared his throat and stood. "I told Aaron I would pick him up at the airport. Do you want to tag along?"

-"Nah, I am going to hit the sack." Zak lied. He just wanted to be alone.

Zak stood and saw Nick to the door. As he watched his friend leave he was more determined than ever to get his shit together and have a good investigation tomorrow, like they did before.

-"Hey, Nick?" Zak called down the silent corridor.

-"Yeah?" He stopped and spun around on his heel.

-"Text me the number to that dude ... that helped you."

Nick gave Zak a wide smile and a nod.

-"Sure thing man."

 **oOo**

The next morning Zak was quick to rise, feeling for the first time in a very long time, excited to face the day. Maybe it was the fact that he had actually slept more than an hour. Whatever it was he knew as soon as his feet hit the ground that today would be a day like no other. He simply hoped that it would be good.

Zak showered and dressed carefully, donning his typical black t-shirt and trousers. He styled his hair and was ready by the time Aaron knocked on his door.

-"Hey, man. Ready?" Aaron smiled in his typical cheerful matter.

Zak grabbed his special duffel bag.

-"Yeah, let do this."

 **oOo**

The day sped by and to Zak's surprise he had no real incidents with his emotions. The people from the haunted house had all been as descriptive as they could with their experiences and Zak had not picked up anything unusual or strange. Although it was not out of the ordinary for him to be fine around people for long periods of time as long as the mood was kept light and no one let their thoughts stray.

The old textile factory was nothing spectacular. It was a very large building with reports of noises and some sightings of shadow people. There were no real attacks or any sort of brutality reported from the spirits, but none of that mattered to Zak today. He was just happy to be feeling a bit more like himself for once and he would enjoy his night all the while getting data and possibly bringing out his newest ghost detecting tool that had been constructed with the help of his new friend, Dustin.

The old factory had not had much a violent history. It had been a typical industry at the turn of the century where unfortunate accidents had occurred, but none seemed to be of malicious intent. Nick had done a quick search on the location and had found that only four deaths had happened, all of them had been male workers and all of them had been ruled accidents. All in all it was not the location of a hardcore ghost hunter.

Billy and Jay had arrived a few hours ago while Zak had been finishing up the interviews and now that the sun was setting and all the equipment was setup, it was time to get to work.

-"We are about ready to go dark." Zak gave the camera that Aaron was holding a big smile. "We have all our cameras set up in the locations of where the activity has been reported. Billy and Jay will be monitoring it from here, our nerve center." Aaron moved his camera to the two men sitting in front of three monitors. "We will be starting our lockdown in the basement, right Nick?" Zak asked.

-"Yeah, that is where we have reports of noises and some shadows have been seen."

-"Isn't that where the one guy died? Crushed by some heavy machinery?"

Zak nodded enthusiastically. He had missed this. The natural connection they all seemed to share during an investigation. Some people accused them of scripting their conversations, but none of it was ever planned, they just all seemed to complement each other and when the cameras turned on it was game time.

-"It was."

The three men headed down, making their usual chatter about the location and went over some of the tragic events which had happened, although Zak was slightly doubtful that there was anything at all here other than some over-active imaginations, the place just did not feel haunted.

While doing the walk-through and all the interviews, Zak had never felt any of his familiar intuition feelings he received at most places that were haunted. Every location always had a certain feel to it, a certain vibe that it would let off, but this one had none and that was bad news for him. If this place turned into a bust, he was not sure the network would even air the investigation and that was a problem for his career which dangled on a very fine line.

Zak, Nick and Aaron made it to the basement without any issues. They performed several EVP sessions along with a few spirit box sweeps. Nothing ever came through and after two hours they moved to the next area, but by four A.M. it was rather obvious that the spirits were not willing to come out or there were no ghosts to speak of, either way the investigation had been a waste of time.

-"This sucks." Nick sighed, lowering his camera. "There hasn't been a single noise or voice."

-"Guess we are shit out of luck, guys." Aaron chuckled, taking a sip of his water bottle.

The three men had stopped in one of the large rooms which had been at one time a warehouse but was now a giant maze of mirrors and gore. Aaron had paused filming over a half hour ago. Nick had continued but it seemed that he too was started to discourage at finding any sort of validation to the reports of spirit activity.

Feeling defeated and exhausting, Zak let out a long sigh.

-"Maybe we should call it a night." He mumbled.

Nick nodded, turning on his flashlight.

-"Yeah, let me radio Billy and tell him to break it down." Grabbing his two-way radio, Nick took a few steps away from Zak and Aaron, ordering Billy and Jay to turn the lights back on and shut the equipment down.

-"Fuck." Zak barked suddenly, the annoyance of the whole night crashing down on him.

-"Hey, dude, don't sweat it." Aaron took a step towards Zak. "You know we have good and bad investigations. The next one will be good, you'll see."

-"If there is a next one, Aaron." Zak growled. "This was my last chance to prove to the network that I am not some fucking nutcase. They expect results." Turning to Aaron with an intense glare he felt his anger and envy rise. "I had shit to get done tonight and now because the fucking morons that work here with their overactive imagination I get fucking screwed."

The old factory fluorescent lights suddenly came to life, emitting a dark glow.

Zak bowed his head and tried to calm himself. The harsh words he had just spit out resounding loudly in his brain. Sure he was slightly upset that the investigation had not gone to plan, but there had been no reason for him to say those things. He was used to some locations not being haunting after all, it was not a new occurrence ... so why was this making his blood boil?

Briefly closing his eyes, Zak tried to focus on something good, he had been able to investigation a whole night without having the intense feeling of wanting to murder someone and he had been feeling good for almost twenty four hours. So why didn't those things seem to matter to him now? Opening his eyes he stared at the old warehouse cement floor as the familiar feeling of fury and hate simmered too closely to the surface ... He knew he was about to lose it. What he couldn't understand was why?

Clutching his hands in a tight ball, Zak tried to take a slow breath, but the stale air of the enclosed room did nothing but make him want to retch. He had to get out of here. With his lit torchlight he glanced around the room filled with mirrors. The lights above provided some light, but not nearly enough to see across the room properly. He couldn't remember which way they had entered and with his agitated state he could not concentrate on what way to go.

As his mind clouded itself in a haze of the new set of emotions Zak's eyes landed on Aaron who stared at him with worry, but for a brief moment Zak noticed the hint of jealousy and pity ... He knew immediately where the sudden flare up of his temper originate from.

-"Aaron?" Zak croaked out, trying hard to keep grips with his reality.

-"What?" Aaron replied in a taut voice, clueless to Zak's inner struggle.

Not having the time or the strength to ask Aaron why the sudden feelings of envy, Zak swallowed his pride.

-"I got to get out of here ... _now_." He looked around desperately and finally setting his eyes on the exit he took cautious steps towards his freedom, almost too afraid to make any sudden movements. He did not want to jar the demon that growled and hissed inside his head, but as he approached the blissful doorway Aaron spoke up.

-"That was not right ... what you said, dude." Aaron's voice wavered. "Those people came to us looking for help; at least now they can have the peace of mind knowing it's not haunted."

Zak paused by the entrance, ready to tell Aaron off, but before he could turn and tell him to fuck off, the lights above suddenly flickered several times.

-"What the hell?" Aaron looked up at the same time as Zak.

-"Billy, are you screwing with the lights?" Nick asked, walking back towards Aaron, oblivious at the confrontation between Aaron and Zak. No voices replied back on the two-way radio. "Billy? Jay?" Nick spoke again but nothing came back but static.

The lights flickered violently, becoming brighter and brighter with each flicker until the energy was simply too much for them to handle. Sparks flew from each of the sockets as powerful popping sounds resonated through the air around Zak, Nick and Aaron.

-"What the fuck?" Zak found himself crouching down, unsure if the whole building was suddenly going to collapse on itself. Glancing up Zak noticed every light in the room exploded and shattered. "Watch out!" He shouted, bowing his head down and putting his hands over his head to protect it from shattering glass.

The room was sparkling with the golden light of exploding fluorescent bulbs. Glass and metal rained down on the three men below. The sound of glass popping filled the air around them. Zak tucked his knees as close to his chest as he could, while his hands began to sting as glass shards embedded themselves into his skin. He silently made a prayed that this was not how his life would end, and after several hellish moments, his plea had been answered. The glass had stopped falling and the room was once again dead silent.

-"Aaron, Zak? You guys okay?" He heard Nick's voice calling from the darkness.

-"Yeah ..." Aaron coughed out.

Nick lit his flashlight and gave the room a quick sweep.

-"Zak, you alright?"

Slowly standing on shaky legs he tested out his limps and other then having sore hands from the glass nothing seemed to be broken. Zak dusted off the glass from the fluorescent lights that clung to his trousers.

-"Yeah ... I think so." He croaked out.

-"We better get the hell out of here." Aaron grabbed his camera off the ground, "before the damn roof falls on our heads."

Everyone agreed and holding off their hypothesis for what had just happened they all left the room together, Zak couldn't help but feel a certain uneasiness about everything...

The three men rushed back to base camp where there was no evidence that anything out of the ordinary had happened. Aaron immediately began to tell their harrowing tale as Zak took a seat on one of the chairs thankful that the feelings he was getting from Aaron had passed, but he still could not understand why Aaron had been feeling jealousy ... _Jealous of what?_

-"My camera was filming the whole thing." Nick said suddenly breaking Zak's thoughts.

Everyone clamored around Nick to see the footage of the sparks and glass flying everywhere. The awful sounds of the lights exploding resonated through the small camera speaker when a lithe voice abruptly came through.

 _"Zak..."_

The smooth, musical voice of a female echoed as clear as day from the audio, causing Aaron to whoop with shock and everyone else to turn their bewildered eyes onto Zak.


	4. Chapter Three

**oOo**  
 **If I got rid of my demons, I'd lose my angels ~ Tennessee Williams**  
 **oOo**

 **Chapter Three**

Zak and the guys returned to their hotel room after taking down all their cameras and putting their equipment away.

"Aaron and I are going to grab some breakfast before hitting the sack for a few hours, you coming along?" Nick asked from the passenger seat of Zak's pickup truck.

Zak shook his head.

"No thanks."

Nick nodded and turned his gaze back out at the urban scenery while Zak sped down the deserted street, going back to their hotel. As appealing as food was, all Zak wanted right now was a hot shower and a few hours of sleep before he headed back to Vegas to try and salvage what he could of their investigation.

He had hours of footage from their night in the factory to go over, but he had a feeling that would be a giant waste of time, just like the entire investigation, well except for the last ten minutes, but had that really been paranormal activity? He really couldn't be sure, but the breathy voice that had called him name was quite a finding. Unfortunately he doubted that was enough to make a whole episode out of. He only hoped that Billy had missed something and they had caught something else on one of their cameras.

"I am going to call our guy out in Vegas to look at that footage we got of that room shaking." Zak informed Nick.

Nick grunted in approval. "Good, maybe he can tell what the hell that was because it scared the living shit out of me."

Zak nodded, agreeing. It had been quite a harrowing experience, having the room shake and the building creak as if the building was going to fall on them, but what he was more curious about was the voice they had heard after, the woman who had called his name, the eerie voice that had come through as clear as day still resonated inside his head.

He couldn't wait to get back to his studio so he could analyze it further, but the real question was who was she? "That factory, there were no reports of any women dying there, was there?"

"Not that I know of." Nick paused and glanced at Zak. "I thought that EVP was a little strange, don't you think?"

Zak pulled his truck into the hotel's parking lot and parked it in the first spot he saw. He turned the ignition off the truck but neither man made a move to get out. He knew that EVP had been strange ... There had been something about the voice, the woman's tone ... it was almost as if she had known Zak personally with the way she had said his name. Zak shivered at the memory. Her disembodied voice had been melodic and soft, the way she had said his name ... it had caused a pang of hurt across his heart.

Whoever the woman had was, she had wanted something from him, but he would never know what. "Do you think that weird shit with the lights had anything to do with that EVP?" Zak asked suddenly.

Nick seemed thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't know ... It could have been a coincidence. But both you and I know that those kinds of coincidences are pretty damn unlikely." Zak nodded, his thoughts running a mile a minute. Nick opened his door and hopped out of the truck, Zak followed suit just as Aaron pulled up behind them in a rented mini-van. Nick made his way to the back passenger before pausing and turning back to Zak. "Proving that it wasn't a coincidence is a whole other story though."

"Yeah ..." Zak watched Aaron and Nick pull away until they were out of sight and made his way to the hotel lobby.

 **oOo**

Zak wandered into the lobby with his mind full of unanswered questions. Never in all his years of investigating had he ever encountered anything like he had last night. He couldn't even think of any actual documented occurrence like he had experience. He had to find out more about what had happened in that building and if it was paranormal related.

Stopping in the middle of the big hotel lobby, Zak grabbed his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name. Cade Willis was a specialist in video analysis. More specifically in strange paranormal anomalies. If anyone could tell him what he had witnessed it was Cade. Zak pressed send and held the phone to his ear, hoping to hear his friend's voice but unfortunately the voicemail picked up. Leaving a quick message, Zak hung up and abruptly turned around to head to his room.

With his head down, Zak kept his eyes on his phone wondering who else he could try and contact about some of the questions he had, at the same time, he wanted to get to his room, so he took the first steps towards the elevator, but as he started to walk he suddenly came crashing hard into another person. Caught off-guard, his phone went crashing to the ground along with the stranger he had just made contact with. A soft feminine gasped was followed by an unceremonious thump. Shaking himself back to reality Zak caught himself before he too toppled over.

"Oh, fuck, I am so sorry." Zak exclaimed, taken aback by his distracted state. Finally focusing, Zak extended his hand down to help the woman up, but as he turned his gaze to her it was his turn to let out a gasp. "You."

The woman gave him a small sheepish smile. "It seems like you are bound and determined to run me over, aren't you." She joked.

"How ..." Zak stared at the familiar woman he had only just seen the day before. Her captivating sky blue eyes could not be mistaken for any other, no matter how freaked out he had been, he would never forget those haunting eyes. "What are you doing here?" He blurred out.

"The same thing most people do at hotels, sleeping away from home." She replied sassily.

How was the very same woman he had almost hit with his truck on his way to Salt Lake City even at the same hotel? The girl gave him an awkward smile as he realized he had been staring at her. He quickly shook himself and bent down slightly with his hand extended. Grateful, the woman grasped his hand. At her touch a small shock caused his entire arm to be covered in goosebumps but he ignored the odd feeling and clasped his fingers around her hand.

With ease as if she weighed nothing, he lifted her to her feet, but thanks to her feather weight Zak pulled a bit too hard. The girl came crashing hard into his chest. Her free hand automatically came up to brace herself against the impact, which did little good; it simply crushed her hand and arm between both their chests. Zak wrapped his free arm around her, to stabilize her.

"Whoa." He gulped totally thrown off.

Zak glanced down and found himself hypnotized by the fragile woman he held in his arms. The petite woman was not only light; she had the most delicate features he had ever seen in a person. The woman's hand was pressed hard against his chest. He felt the coolness of her skin through his shirt and he felt himself shiver.

"I am really sorry." He murmured, apologizing again. "I am not usually this much of an idiot."

"Oh, I don't mind." The woman countered, her eyes slightly glazed over before she blinked several times as if waking up from a dream. "I mean, it's okay, no harm done." She suddenly blushed and glanced down at their rather intimidate pose.

Zak quickly dropped his hands from around her waist and let go of her hand. He took a step back and cleared his throat.

"Are you alright?" He finally asked.

The woman gave him a small smile which made her entire face light up. Zak felt his heart skip a beat at the sight but it was over all too soon as she turn her gaze to the ground.

"I am fine, but I don't think your phone is." She reached down and grabbed his mobile phone. The woman stared at the device for a moment with a quizzical frown but when it gave a loud ring she gasped surprise and shoved it into his out-stretched hand.

Finding her reaction rather humorous, Zak found himself chuckling before glancing down at who was phoning him. The screen light up with Aaron's name. Zak swiped the ignore option and turned his eyes back to the woman.

"My phone is fine. It's used to being dropped." He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Well, I'm glad." Suddenly seeming uncomfortable she took a step back. "I should go." Zak nodded but the thought of her leaving did not seem right. The enchanting woman turned to leave but she stopped mid-track. "Unless you want to buy me breakfast?" She asked out of the blue.

Zak's stomach lurched at the thought. "I mean you almost ran me over twice. It's the least you can do." She grinned cockily and before Zak could even think this through he found himself nodding. "

 **oOo**

Zak and his mystery girl didn't have to go far to find somewhere to eat. The hotel was located in the heart of Salt Lake City and they had several choices to pick from, but to Zak's relief they settled on a quiet diner.

"I didn't even bother asking your name?" Zak asked as they both took a seat inside the small booth of the old café.

A waitress wearing a sunny yellow uniform soon appeared and set a single two sided menu on the table. "Would you like anything before you look at the menu?" She asked.

Zak shook his head no, he wasn't the coffee type and he wanted to catch a few hours of sleep before he headed back to Vegas later today so he was going to stay away from caffeine.

"Tea, please." The woman ordered softly. The waitress nodded and was gone in a flash. "Melody." The girl spoke again while grabbing the menu and glancing down at it.

"What?"

"You asked me my name." She smiled briefly gazing up at Zak. "It's Melody."

Zak nodded and watched her look back down to her menu as a sense of awe took over. Strangely enough the name suited her, almost too well. From her musical singsong like tone to her exquisite features, she was just that, melodic.

He couldn't quite put a finger on what was different from Melody to all the other women he knew but she was unusual. There was something very ethereal and surreal to her and it made Zak slightly nervous.

"So what are you doing in Salt Lake City?" He asked gruffly.

Melody set the menu down and slid it over to Zak for him to look at. "Just some business, but yesterday I was visiting my sister before you ... you know almost ran me down." Zak flinched at the memory, still taken aback at how detracted he has been from reality in general lately. He wanted to blame his new gift but he wasn't sure that was entirely the problem. "What bring you to Salt Lake?" She asked just as the waitress dropped off her tea and took off again to seat several people who had just walked in.

So much for a quiet place.

"Work ..." He replied distracted by the sudden influx of people. He had to try and block them out ... The last thing he wanted was to freak out on Melody.

Melody added a sugar packet to her tea and with an elegant grace she stirred the dark liquid. "Aren't you Mr. Mysterious?" She giggled.

Turning back towards her, he was startled by the bright sparkle in her eyes.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I had some business here too." He added vaguely, not wanting to elaborate on what he did because it was always followed by a hundred questions he did not want to answer. "But I am going home tonight."

Seeming to understand, she didn't ask any follow-up questions and simply changed the topic for which he was grateful. "I am going to have some bacon and eggs." She smiled brightly. "People just don't have bacon and eggs anymore; they are so worried about dying all the time, they miss the whole point of living."

"Uhm ... yeah, I guess so." Zak stared at the woman across from him suddenly wondering what the hell he was doing here. It was obvious Melody was a very sweet girl and the last thing he wanted was to taint the image of her he had.

Keeping his steel gaze at Melody, his thoughts wandered, she was that picture perfect of innocence. Dressed in a plain but pretty yellow dress, she emanated small hometown girl. What the hell was he doing here? He wondered again.

It was just a matter of time before he felt some sort of emotion from her, and he wasn't to sure he could take that, after all he still held on to that hope that there was some good in the world ... "Listen Melody ..." Zak dropped the menu. "I don't think this is a good idea." He glanced around the now very crowded room. "I should get back to my room."

Zak began to stand up but with almost inhuman speed, Melody put her ice cold hand on top of his. The shock of the action and the temperature of her flesh sent a violent chill through his body.

"Please, don't go." She whispered. Zak's eyes snapped up to hers. Her bright eyes pleaded at him and the purity she radiated took him aback. "I just – It's just breakfast." She murmured shyly seeming to be holding something back.

As if in a trance, Zak found himself nodding and returning to his seat.

Moments later the busy waitress appeared. Her face flush she took Melody's order. Zak had no idea what to order, his mind still a jumble of confusion he simply ordered the same. The waitress hurried off with their order as a few patrons spoke loudly.

"What the hell do we need to do to get service around here?" One man shouted angrily.

"Sorry ..." The waitress called, rushing to the kitchen with Zak's order. "Everyone called in sick today."

A few beads of sweat formed on Zak forehead and just as predicted he felt the familiar sinking feeling in the pit of stomach. The annoyance in the room grew as the waitress did her best to get to each customer all the while serving the food that was waiting in the kitchen with the irate chef, screaming that serving cold food was bad for business.

Time slowed and the anger and hate slowly built and simmer. Zak's hands fisted tightly. He didn't want to lose it, not in front of Melody ... but the animosity grew faster than usual thanks to the large crowd who couldn't keep their annoyance in check in the small café. Zak's breathing became heavier, his entire body stiffened.

"Zak?" The calming voice broke through his haze of hate. "Zak ... listen to me." A cool hand slipped over his tightened fist. It felt like ice over his overheated skin. "Zak," she called again. "Take a slow breath and listen to my voice." Melody spoke in her musical singsong tone. "You can block it out, just picture a wall."

Zak tried to listen to her helpful words but concentrating on anything but the fury which was going to soon bubble out of him was practically impossible and unfortunately Melody was going to get the brunt of his violence when it broke through. He had to find a way out of here.

"I – need – too leave..." He grounded out.

He felt Melody's fingers wiggle their way into his balled-up fist. Zak stared at her small ghostly hands as she wrapped it tightly around his.

"Zak ... don't focus on the anger. Look at me." She whispered, her voice pleading.

The small café shrunk and the air became stiffening. Zak's stomach churn violently as the voices in the room grew louder and louder with annoying groans and sighs. The rooms rage and agitation crashed down hard on him, Zak felt himself unraveling.

"Please, Zak, you can do this." Melody encouraged again, slowly breaking through Zak's haze. He finally picked his eyes up, long enough to see her. Even though his vision was clouded, he saw her, the lovely angel with alabaster skin and long red hair. She gave him a beckoning smile from her bright red lips. "Don't let that demon win Zak." She whispered. "You can stop him and I can help you."

The seething rage that had slowly been climbing abruptly stopped. He tried hard to hold onto the words she had just said. _"I can help you."_ How could she help him, she didn't even know him, let alone understand what he was going through. Her hands squeeze his and she gave him a nod as if she knew exactly what was thinking.

The need for him to get up and scream seemed to slowly dissipate. He still wanted to rip someone's head off, but the urge was more manageable ... it was even bearable. Zak finally took that deep breath Melody had asked from him and it felt like heaven.

"Good." She smiled and Zak found himself nodding, agreeing with her. "Now just let go." She murmured.

Unsure what she meant, Zak peered at her, trying hard to keep the little bit of control he had gotten for himself. The rage still boiled violently but it was almost as if someone had finally opened the lid and he was able to keep it somewhat controlled, although the onslaught of angry feelings still were barraging him.

"Zak ... you are strong, I know you can fight this." Melody beckon and with an unusual strength she freed her hand he had been unintentionally clutching too.

Once free, Zak felt like he was slammed with a giant wall. His head whipped back violently and his entire body stiffened. With a growl he couldn't hold back, Zak's body began to convulse. The giant rush of hatred and rage swarmed inside his head.

A few people glanced over as Zak felt himself slip deeper into oblivion. He tried to brace himself, grabbing onto the table with his hands but with his vision clouded he missed and sent his utensils flying to the ground.

"What the hell?" A few people mumbled from next to them.

But before Zak could do anymore damage, Melody sprang into action and stood up. She grabbed hold of Zak's arm and he instantly felt some of the feelings damper down, enough so he could at least function and move.

"Come on." She whispered, helping him to his feet. "I didn't realize how bad it had its hold on you." She whispered sadly.

Zak wasn't sure what she meant but he didn't care. All he wanted was to get out of here before he either started ripping peoples head off or worse ... Zak stood shakily on his feet, all the while Melody kept a hand on him, helping guide him through the small diner.

"Sorry," she murmured to a few people she walked by. "My friend isn't feeling well."

Nearing the door, Zak picked up the pace, anxious to feel the freedom of the outside, but as he walked by the last group of people; Zak noticed it was one of the irate men that had yelled at the waitress several times.

"Fucking drug addict." He heard the guy mumble.

Melody was at his back, but Zak stopped next to the man.

"What did you just say?" Zak growled out, barely recognizing his own voice. The overweight, balding man visibly swallowed as he glanced up with distressed. He gave Zak a nervous grin he shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing, man." He replied.

"No, I heard you say something." Zak pressed, unable to stop himself.

The man shrugged again, trying to appear nonchalant, but Zak could feel the fear from him. A small unhuman voice inside him let out a happy laugh. The thought of him scaring this man was almost euphoric. Unable to stop, Zak glared down at the man.

"Come on asshole, you are all tough yelling at that waitress, why don't you yell at me to get out of your face?"

"Zak, stop." Melody begged from behind, trying to push him to the door.

But he didn't want to stop. He wanted to scare this idiot shitless. He wanted that man to beg for his mercy.

"Look, I didn't say shit, so why don't you just get out of here before I call the cops." The man bravely spoke, but his voice shook with fear.

Zak reached out and grabbed the man by the collar, he dragged him to his feet with ease, but before he could do anything else he felt Melody's cool hands on his back, both pressing on his skin.

"Please, Zak, just let him go, you can do this."

Turning his head slightly, Zak stared into Melody's large sorrowful eyes and just like that he released the man and stormed to the door, leaving her and the crowded restaurant gaping at him.


	5. Chapter Four

_A/N:  
A quick small Author's note. I am sure many of you have been wondering why so longer between updates, so I wanted to apologize for that. I had fallen flat on inspiration for any sort of writing. I really felt broken for some time there. Everything I wrote felt very forced and just not me. But by chance this new friend of mine has showed me I am not quite dead inside and I can still feel emotions I swore away.  
He ignited that little spark inside of me. You know who you are, so Thank you.  
XxX_

 **oOo  
Now a soft kiss - Aye, by that kiss, I vow an endless bliss. John Keat**  
 **oOo**

 **Chapter Four**

People often said in times of turbulence, you learned to appreciate the little things. Poetic and whimsical things like sunsets, singing birds and the way a pretty girl smiles at you.

Well, Zak could say without a doubt, those people were full of shit. He knew. When times were bad, those terrible times distracted you from everything else. Everything was irrelevant and distorted, clouded by the gravity of the darkness.

 _Darkness._

That was the best way Zak could describe what he was now. He was exactly what he had hunted for years, what he hated. A bully. A man who inflicted pain and evil on others just for his own pleasure, all to get a fleeting moment of satisfaction. How could he live with himself?

He couldn't, and he certainly couldn't taint others with his darkness. When the hate and anger took over, it was like a plague and it seemed to spread to others around him. He had slowly been noticing the pattern but it was not a theory he was in a hurry to explore, but it almost seemed like when he felt the fury bubble inside of him, others around him felt it and absorbed the terrible mental state he was imposing on them, which fueled him even more. It was a vicious cycle and he had to find a way to end it.

Zak stormed out of the old cafe, needing to run away, if only for a fleeting moment. He pushed the door so hard that one of the hinges snapped off. With an eerie stillness, the door slowly closed behind him, sitting slightly skewed, not that he cared. He had to get the hell away from everyone before he did end up needing that emergency overnight bag and had to get out of the country.

The incident with the man had been too close ... he had almost totally lost it and he couldn't let that happen. The last time he had lost control was the night this had all begun and he put Nick in the hospital and like hell he would let that happen again.

Although in the giant mess he was stewing in, he knew one thing for sure. His new sensory gift was getting stronger and harder to control. Walking away from that man had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. Something inside his mind had been screaming to hurt the man he had grabbed by the shirt collar ... Something within Zak had been wailing loudly to make that idiot pay for his anger. The images of horrid things that flashed into Zak's mind, the things he wanted to do ... They were abominable.

 _What the hell was he becoming?_

"Zak, wait!" Melody called from behind him.

Ignoring her, Zak made his way down the mildly crowded sidewalk, not caring which way he was going as long as it was away from everyone, especially her. "Please Zak." She called again.

Zak twisted his head to the side for a brief moment and saw Melody closing in on him. Her cheeks slightly flushed, her lovely, expressive eyes begging him to stop, which only helped reaffirmed that he needed to get away from her. With haste, Zak picked up the pace. Crashing into several people, ignoring their cries of outrage, he shoved them to the side moving everyone out of his way.

"Hey!" One cried out.

"What the hell?" Another roared.

Keeping his eyes forward, Zak continued to push his way through the crowd, starting to feel like the drug addict he had been accused of being only moments ago. With his face covered in sweat, he dodged left and right through the obstacle of people.

He tried to pick up the pace but the further he went, the worse his body felt. His head was pounding as he felt every fast, erratic beat of his palpitating heart in his temples. His legs felt like jelly, while the rest of his limbs were barely responding, but he ignored the pain and agony and pushed himself to keep going.

Breathing hard, beads of sweat slowly ran down his forehead as he kept his unrealistic pace. Zak rushed through several intersections, ignoring traffic signals and the angry blare of car horns that had to suddenly stop to avoid hitting him, he heard none of it. All Zak was aware of was his own frantic heartbeat and hard pants until the inevitable happened.

He tripped.

His long legs which were already tired from his emotional outburst collapsed under his weight. Unceremoniously he flew forward, falling hard to his knees. His hands came up on instinct, bracing themselves for the impact. His chest hit the ground with a painful slam, his hands scrapping against the cement sidewalk.

"Zak!" Melody screamed. Seconds later, she reached his side and knelt down next to him. She put a gentle hand on his sweaty back and with care she ran her fingers down his damp skin. "Zak, are you alright?"

Feeling like a total fool, he sure as hell didn't want Melody witnessing anymore of his blunders. Zak recoiled from her touch. He twisted himself to get away from her, which caused both his hands and knees to slide along the asphalt, making them sting worse than they already did. "Just get the hell away from me." He growled.

"I just want to help."

"I don't need your help, just stay the fuck away." He repeated desperately.

"Zak, please ..."

With some difficulty, he stood to his feet and put a safe distance between Melody and him. The girl made him nervous and he couldn't explain why. When he looked at her, he felt everything a man should feel when he looked at a beautiful woman but when she touched him ... that was when his heart skipped a beat and his entire body hummed with a sort of electric charge. Taking a step back, he glanced down at himself, taking stock of the damage. Other than a bruised ego from his tumble and a few scraped on his hands and knees, along with a ruined pair of trousers, there was no real injury.

His mental state was also back to normal, or as sane as his thought could get. Most of his violent anger from earlier had dissipated and now he just felt drained and exhausted.

"Are you alright?" Melody asked, watching him as he examined himself. She seemed to want to take a step forward, towards him, but she hesitated and with good reason. Zak brought his steel gaze back to hers.

"Melody, don't you get it, I am trying to protect you. I am dangerous. I could have killed that guy in that restaurant. I _wanted_ to kill him." Zak's chest rapidly heaved up and down at the memory. He tried to stamp down on his roller-coaster of emotion but he couldn't seem to calm himself down enough. Stretching out his arms in front of him, he stared at his hands with disgust. "I wanted to wrap my fucking hands around that guy's neck and squeeze it until he took his last breath." He admitted, ashamed, but uncaring. He couldn't understand why this woman was still following him; he had to get rid of her, even if that meant he had to scare the shit out of her.

"I know ... but I can help you. Please," she pleaded, "just come with me." Melody stretched her hand out for him to take. Zak looked at it as if she was holding the most revolting thing in the world.

"I don't want to hurt you." He grounded out.

"You won't." She assured him with a trusting smile.

Time around Zak seemed to slow down as he kept his wary eye on the peculiar woman in front of him. He couldn't quite understand why she was still here, but it was almost as if they were both incased in the same bubble. Life around them continued as it always had. The busy sidewalk still crowded with people was still around them, but Zak barely noticed any of it. Some passerby walked right passed them, ignoring the odd scene playing out, while a few curious onlookers tried to discreetly assess the situation.

Zak stared at Melody's petite hand, outstretched for him to take, beckoning him to take a hold, but something held him back. His mind was not functioning properly. The loud noises of the city around him were deafening and only added to his confusion, but obviously having enough Melody reached out and clamped down on his hand, squeezing it tightly. His entire arm goose bumped at her touch.

"Come with me." She ordered and pulled him in the same direction he had been running.

Too exhausted to fight anymore, Zak followed, keeping his own unintentional grip on Melody's hand.

 **oOo**

Melody and Zak walked in silenced until they reach one of the large community parks. Zak was on automatic pilot and simply followed. He didn't take notice how they had gotten here and he doubted he could find his way back to the hotel without asking for direction. His mind was blank, which was a nice change to his usual unrest.

The couple walked hand in hand, both remaining silent. They walked the large well-worn path until they had made their way a bit deeper into the park and came to a charming duck pond. Zak couldn't explain why he still held onto Melody's hand except that it had a strangely soothing sensation for him. She emitted an aura of calm which made him want to crawl closer to her and absorb every hint of it.

As they reached the tiny pool of water, several benches were scattered around the pond. Zak only noticed a couple of people lingering about. One feed the fat ducks which had all clamored around him, while another seemed to simply be enjoying the peaceful scenery.

Melody led the way to an empty bench and sat down. Zak gratefully plopped down on the wooded seat with a groan of pleasure. He could not remember the last time sitting felt so heavenly.

His troubled gaze stared at the peaceful setting in front of him. The entire thing felt somewhat surreal but he didn't care, the view was calming and made him wish he could sit here forever. Unfortunately as he felt himself unwind he couldn't help but go over the events that had just taken place. More specifically Melody's role in the entire thing. She was not freaked out or displaying any emotions of fear or worry ... Actually Zak was rather sure she should at least be wondering if he had some sort of mental problem, but she didn't seemed phased by anything he had done or said.

What was it that she had said before he had tried to escape the restaurant? _I didn't realize how bad it had its hold on you._ She knew ... she knew something.

"Who are you?" Zak asked, turning his head to the side to look at Melody.

Her delicate profile kept its stoic position. Her bright eyes stared at the water in front of them. She didn't move or flinched and he wondered if she had even heard him. With her hands neatly folded on her lap, she almost appeared to be a life-like statue. "Melody, what did you mean by how _it_ had a hold on me?"

Turning slightly to face him, Melody gave him a sad smile. "You won't believe me ..."

Zak laughed without much humor. "Sweetie," he started, the endearment slipping out without him thinking. "With the shit I been living through the last few months, you'd be amazed at what I will believe."

"You are emphatic, are you not?" She asked suddenly.

Zak gave a single nod. "Somewhat ... I guess." He was not by any means all that qualified. He only had feelings at times, he was not like some of the people he had the pleasure of meeting throughout the years, but he knew he was not one hundred percent normal. He had a feeling his empathy is what had originally gotten him into this mess.

Melody turned her gaze back towards the water. "I get feelings from people who ..." She paused for a moment, seeming to search for the right words. "I get feelings from people who need help." She finished.

Zak's brow furrowed. "I don't understand ... I don't need help." He grounded out stubbornly.

He had no idea what this woman was talking about or at least it was what he was trying very hard to convince himself of. He didn't want to be some charity case for her to save. He couldn't be saved. Melody had no idea what she was trifling with; he didn't need any sort of help she could offer that was for sure. He wasn't in need of a pep talk or whatever else she thought she could offer him.

Melody turned towards him and with boldness she took his hands in her. The coldness of her skin surprised him again. He wanted to recoil back but she held on with a hard grip.

"I know what plagues you Zak Bagans." She murmured softly.

"How –?"

Not giving him a chance to finish, Melody gave him a small smile. "I know you can feel it too."

"Feel what?" He replied adamantly, refusing to even acknowledge that this woman was not talking crazy after all.

He knew deep inside Melody was different. He felt it the moment he met her when she had attempted to cross the road and he almost hit her, this woman was not like anyone he had met. He certainly couldn't fail to notice how attracted he was to her, but it was beyond that. It was almost like she brought out this long-lost buried feeling inside of him. She calmed him in a strange way and he found it very unnerving.

To his surprise Melody moved closer, so close that her leg was pressed up tightly against his. She gave him a wide smile and leaned in, her eyes shun brightly with a certain mischief that made him even more anxious.

"I know what's inside of you." She whispered softly.

Zak eyes grew wide and his stomach dropped. "I don't know what you mean." He managed to croak out, unable to process what was happening. Melody set her other cool hand on Zak arm causing it to goose-bumped instantly.

The park suddenly grew eerily quiet as Zak lifted his gaze and met her clear electric blue eyes. Everything around them seemed to fade away while her fingers tighten its grip on his wrist.

"I can't control what is inside me." Zak found himself whispering, unsure why he was even telling her this.

"I know." Melody replied, her voice filled with the pain he felt.

Hypnotized by her stunning eyes he found himself leaning in, suddenly needing to be even closer to her. "I'm afraid ..." He murmured bowing his head lower, suddenly being enveloped by her intoxication scent of lavender and something warm and earthy. "I'm afraid that I am losing my mind or some shit." He admitted shamefully for the first time ever.

A small, sad smile appeared on Melody's ruby red lips. "You aren't losing your mind, Zak." Hesitation flashed in her eyes for a moment but it quickly dissipated and was replaced with something else, a certain fire.

Without warning she moved in and placed a hard kiss on his lips. It was swift, simple yet totally unexpected and absolutely electrifying. Zak felt his entire body react to the touch. Her lips were cold and she was obviously very inexperience, but Zak had never felt anything so blissful in his life. Every inch of his skin goosebumped, his stomach did a somersault but before he could even think of reacting and taking over, it was over. Melody pulled away.

Her cheeks were flushed and bright pink from embarrassment. With her eyes lowered to the ground she refused to meet his stare. "Sorry" She mumbled, barely audible for Zak to hear.

With his blood pumping hard, his mind was reeling with Melody. Her taste and smell permeated him and made it impossible to think straight, so he did the only thing his mind was screaming at him to do. Not wasting another moment he roughly grabbed her jacket and pulled her to him.

Their lips crashed hard against each other, her teeth smashed hard into his lower lip. He ignored the stinging pain and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, crushing her to him. Her body leaned into him and it was all he needed as encouragement, he deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She tasted of grapes and vanilla which served as an aphrodisiac and spurred him on. She stroked his tongue with the tip of her own, drawing a gruff moan from deep in his throat. Her fingers tangled themselves in his short spiky hair, ruffling his perfect faux-hawk, not that he cared. She pulled him closer and he happily obliged, losing himself into her.

"Don't you see, Zak," she breathed against his mouth. "You can feel more than just hate and pain."

He rested his forehead against hers, trying to absorb what she had just said to him. He needed to back off and think. Zak took a deep breath inhaling her intoxicating aroma, giving him an assault of her scent, something fanciful and lovely which did nothing to calm his erratic heartbeat. Her unique scent was so uniquely her and it drove him on the brink of insanity. His pounding heart thrummed through his veins violently. God help him, he couldn't stop. He didn't care to stop and consider her wise words, he felt fantastic and he didn't want it to stop.

With a growl of surrender, he drew a line of soft kisses along her slender neck, sucking and kissing as he left a wet trail to her collarbone. Her moan reverberated through him. He thought he moaned back, but he was no longer sure. He could no longer distinguish between her soft murmurs of pleasure and his own. This was the closes to normal he had felt in months and he was not ready to let go, not yet.

At least not until his mobile violently vibrated in his pocket, causing Melody to gasp with surprise and move back several inches. The shock of her quick move caused Zak to reach into his pocket and answer with an angry bark. "What?" He spat, giving Melody an apologetic awkward smile.

"Zak? Where the hell are you?" Nick's voice replied.

Blinking several times, Zak glanced around; trying to get his bearings ... His racing heart thumped violently trying to find a regular rhythm, giving him a chance to catch his breath. _Where was he...?_ His eyes landing on the murky waters of the still pond letting him recall he was in a public park ... Making out with a woman he didn't know. He let out a shaky breath.

He had never behaved so erratically ... All his actions had always been so closely calculated and restrained. What the hell was wrong with him? He was behaving less and less like himself. He was positive if Nick had not called he would still have been kissing Melody with no qualms about it either.

"I – uhhh – I went for a walk." He answered Nick, trying to sound as casual as he could but it was a hard feat to do when his lips still stung from his and Melody's shared kiss while his hands itched to touch her again.

"Oh, you had me worried when you didn't answer the door at the hotel." Nick sighed with relief, but the comfort was short lived. Nick cleared his throat. "Are you okay though? Do you want some company?"

"No!" Zak practically shouted, but quickly corrected himself. "I mean ... I'm fine, just needed some fresh air, _alone."_ Zak glanced back at Melody who had put some distance between him and her. Her hands neatly folded on her lap, she seemed to be contemplating the same thing he was, what the hell had they done? Unable to stand still any longer, Zak stood and took a few steps away from the secluded bench. "I am on my way back to my room now, I am going to check out and head home."

"I thought you wanted to catch some sleep?" Nick asked, his voice once again turning to concern.

"Nah, I'm good." Zak shrugged. "I am just anxious to go over this evidence."

"Well, if you're sure you're alright ..." Nick hesitated for a moment. "Do you want me to ride back with you? I can catch a flight in Vegas -"

"Dude, I'm fine." Zak snapped.

"Alright, I'm just checking man."

The two men said their goodbyes and hung up, leaving Zak wishing he had been more patient with Nick. He was just being a good friend, which was more than he could say about himself these days. Letting his shoulders sag, he felt that familiar feeling of defeat take back over. He wished so many things lately...

He had to get the hell out of here and get home.

Turning around he prepared himself to give Melody an excuse to leave, but as he faced the bench she had been waiting for him on, it now sat empty. Melody was gone.


End file.
